Singalong A Sound of MusicIpswich RegentLast nightAnd then I don't feel so bad!Nuns by the score, Lonely Goatherds, Goats, Bees, Edelweiss, Moonbeams Baronesses, Nazis and even the Hills descended on the Ipswich Regent last evening.

Singalong A Sound of Music

Ipswich Regent

Last night

And then I don't feel so bad!

Nuns by the score, Lonely Goatherds, Goats, Bees, Edelweiss, Moonbeams Baronesses, Nazis and even the Hills descended on the Ipswich Regent last evening. It was a marvellous sight as the faithful prepared for another Singalong a Sound of Music.

There were fancy dress competitions prior to starting the show, then the big moment. As the Salzburg hills rolled into sight with Maria in the meadow the tone for the evening was set. The audience loved it.

This is not for the Sound of Music purist; the baddies are booed and hissed, alternative dialogue is shouted by the audience to hoots of laughter from all around. Every song in the film is sung by the audience. Party poppers exploded around the theatre when Captain von Trapp kisses Maria for the first time. In the famous churchyard scene those with torches shone them around the auditorium looking for the van Trapp family hiding behind their makeshift gravestones (the seats!).

A fitting tribute to the talent of Rodgers and Hammerstein that this magical film is still enduringly popular 40 years on, this interactive version is an absolute must, though not for the faint of heart. Next time its near you, do yourself a favour; go. Dress up, join in and have a great night out.

Nigel Lungley